Fresh Water Fishing

Why fresh water fishing and not salt water fishing? I suppose that it's just a matter of preference really. Or maybe it's a matter of convenience? Or could it be an environmental consideration? Or ... maybe it's all of these and more!

I prefer drinking fresh water as opposed to salt water. So maybe that's why I tend to like fresh water fishing more than salt water fishing. Also, I don't live 2 minutes from the ocean, but I am 2 minutes from a few local fishing holes. Therefore It's easier for me to grab a rod and reel and hop on down to my favorite fishing hot-spot. And maybe it's like my mom used to say ... "You're the laziest person I've ever known!" Maybe my laziness has been responsible for me gravitating to fresh water fishing. Hmmmm ... I can't truly say for sure!

Whatever is to blame, I'm happier when I'm fishing in fresh than when I'm fishing in salt water. So there you go - I've said it! And with that said, you'll be pleased to know that I will be sharing some of my fresh water fishing tips, tricks, techniques and other information that is wrapped up in the being called me.

I currently live in Southern New Jersey in the U S of A and have lots of great experience in fishing this part of the country. The average lake depth here is less than 12 feet. So if you are used to fishing a rubber worm with a texas rigging... good luck trying to catch a bass. It won't work. My best bass fishing tip would be to lose the weight. You'll have much more success if you use an ultra-light rod and reel and just cast the worm using nothing more than the worm and hook. Sounds crazy to some of you I'm sure - but it works here!

If you're a spinning lure fan, once again you'll need to go light. You'll run into the same problem as with the worm above if you go any heavier than a "1" rooster tail! I use spinners mostly during the spring and early summer and quite often I like using the "0" rooster tail. The reason for such a light spinner is that it can be fished slowly without sinking. This is important because while the water is still cool, the fish tend to move more slowly. A slow moving lure that stays out of the weeds on the bottom of the lake is just what you (and the fish) are looking for!

Let me state that I'm not a big fan of spinners. I'm a rubber worm fanatic! But I have used spinners occassionally during the summer months (when the worms aren't producing) and caught some decent 5 pound class largemouth bass with them. That may not seem all that big to you folks in the southern USA, but it's a nice sized fish for my area!

I believe the best fresh water fishing tip for this area is: don't put too much faith in the prescribed times that fishing is supposed to be good. I've read books and subscribed to magazines where the authors state that early morning and early evening are the best times to catch fish. In my experience this is not true! All of the largest fish I've caught almost without exception have been caught at times that were not supposed to be good for catching fish. Do you think that maybe the fish know when the anglers are out in concentration and they wait until they leave before they decide to eat? No - they can't possibly know that, now can they? The fish in these parts (which are heavily fished I might add) seem to go against standard fisherman's logic. Maybe they're smarter than we think.

So while I recommend reading and improving your general fishing knowledge, you mustn't always go "by the book" when you're out and about fresh water fishing. Should you read the books and articles? Sure - but even though the old time proven methods may work most of the time, sometimes you need to think out of the box (or book) if you want to be a successful fisherman.

Want to know my main fishing set-up? I use an old Garcia-Mitchell 308 spinning reel with a Garcia-Mitchell 7 foot light action rod. My reel has the shallow spool filled with 4 pound test monofilament and my deep reel spool has 6 pound monofilament in it. If you want a challenge - try catching a 5 pound bass on this rig in a tree-stump infested shallow lake! You might just get hooked for life! :-)